Aloha, Christendom!

September 03, 2009

Name: Christopher FoecklerAge: 19Year: SophomoreFrom: Manassas, VAMajor: UndecidedHobbies? Many and varied. You may be surprised where you will find me doing something. What's your favorite class? All the professors here really know their material and care about their students’ learning, but my favorite professors are Prof. Brendan McGuire with his dynamic and engaging lecture style; Prof. Mike Brown; Prof. Eric Jenislawski; and Dr. John Cuddeback. Yes, that is a list of almost all the professors I’ve taken.Do you play any sports? I have played soccer since third grade and I play on Christendom’s soccer team. I really enjoy the friendly competition and the exercise. Do you participate in any drama or music related activities? I am involved with the Christendom Players and I am the VP of the Christendom College Film Club—I’ve been acting for a number of years.What is your favorite thing about Christendom? The dedication of the school’s faculty and staff to educating good Catholic men and women who can live the Faith in every circumstance.Why did you choose Christendom? My family has a long tradition here at Christendom; two of my uncles were here when the college first opened. For myself, I had always wanted to explore the Faith to its depths and Christendom seemed to offer me the very tools I needed.Plans after graduation? Formally, I would like to do something that involves instructing people in the Faith, but I do not have any concrete plans.

Friday Night Social

Food and drink aplenty, music steadily playing in the background, pool tables, various games, and beautiful weather were all in store for those who attended the Friday Night Social. Hosted in Killian’s Café, the event promoted inter-class mingling and offered the chance to spend an evening doing something a little different, while still getting in a little group time with friends.

“I thought it was a blast, it was really fun,” said Sophomore Adele Smith. “It was really nice to hang out with my friends in such a great atmosphere after three months of separation.”

Christendom’s own Registrar and friend of the undergraduates, Walter Janaro, could be seen that night chatting over a soda or playing a game of Clue.

Aloha, Christendom!

Saturday night, an array of colors swarmed outside the back of the Regina Coeli Hall for the annual Luau Dance. Students from every class gathered to dance their cares away after their first week of studies.

“I’m having a lot of fun! It’s great,” Freshman Colleen Harrington said during the dance.

Students not only were provided with a colorful selection of leis, but also got to munch on fresh fruit and Hawaiian themed kabobs grilled by members of the SAC.

During the dance, a hula-hooping contest was held: two freshman girls, Laura McGrath and Kathleen Deighan, proved to have quite the talent for it. Lauren walked away with the “golden coconut award” for her ability.

Following the hula-hooping, a limbo contest was held, in which Christendom students demonstrated their agility while creeping under a bamboo stick held by Junior Bernadette Horiuchi and SAC Director Miss Marie Antunes. Though the flexibility of all the participants was quite impressive, Senior Anna Adams walked away as the winner for the evening, having limboed under the stick held less than three feet off the ground!

The students really enjoyed this fun chance to relax Hawaiian-style and dance with classmates. Now the freshmen, having seen what Christendom dances are like, join the rest of the students in excited anticipation for the next one!

“Would you have considered the execution of Jesus Christ to have been lawful,” Alumnus Kieran DuFrain questioned at Sunday night’s gathering of the Chester-Belloc Debate Society. DuFrain’s query was quickly followed by stomping from the listeners, a convention instituted by the society to show approval of a particular point. The resolution being argued was whether Catholics should support the death penalty in America. Because of the nature of the question, there were many strong opinions on both sides.

“These people [who have been convicted] are guilty of some kind of heinous crime,” said Nathan Gniewek, the debate society secretary. “If a man has killed five people, he has forfeited his natural rights.”

Throughout the duration of the debate the knowledgeable speakers used every bit of information in their arsenal to prove their points. Quotes ranged from those of popes, to G.K. Chesterton, to Scripture.

As the evening drew to a close, it came time for the final vote on the issue. Sophomore Seth Riggio reported the tally to be 50 pro, 12 con, and 5 abstaining.

Humor is a powerful tool of rhetoric: Senior Nathan Scott knows how to use it well.

Sophomore Seth Riggio reports the tally.

Senior Brian Gallagher quoted Chesterton, quipping, “As Catholics, we are called to bring people to Christ: how better than with a noose?”

The Amazing and Beautiful Adventures Surrounding Christendom

A lot of colleges boast a beautiful campus with lots to do, and many brag about their various outdoors activities. Well Christendom College is guilty of that too: pay our campus a visit and see for yourself. In fact, have the whole family pay us a visit in the Shenandoah Valley! There is so much to see and do: from fishing to horseback riding, canoeing to biking, hiking the famous Blue Ridge Mountains to taking a ride in a hot air balloon.

A new spot on Christendom’s website highlights many of the recreational activities that surround Christendom’s sylvan campus. Take a look and start planning your visit to Christendom today.

That’s right. Both our men’s and women’s soccer teams are back and ready to defend their excellent seasons last year.

Our lady crusaders are excited about this fall season, after making school history last year in bringing home a second place trophy from the USCAA National Tournament. Despite losing some key seniors, the girls are determined to have a winning season once again. They have been working hard in preseason and, with the addition of some new faces, the ladies are looking forward to their first game.

The men’s team also seems to be more than ready for this season. Last year’s season was a very successful one for the boys, made evident in their winning record. However, with a record number of players at tryouts and the loss of no seniors from last year’s team, the men’s team seems to have the capability of having their best season yet! They have been working very hard the past few weeks with their preseason camp, daily practices, and morning runs. The boy’s team has made some exciting freshman additions to their roster and, with the returning players, it looks like the season will be one to follow!

Q. I was thinking of making some college visits and I was wondering if there were any specific times I should plan on visiting Christendom, or is anytime OK with you?

A. Visiting a college is an important step in determining if a particular college is a good fit for you. But it is not the first step. It is important to figure out what YOU are looking for in a college and then check out websites, call Admissions Directors and find out if a particular college has the things you need and doesn't have the things you don't want.

Then, if a college meets your criteria, arrange to visit. If it doesn't, then cross it off the list. So, if Christendom made it past step one, then step two is to make the actual visit.

The way you make a visit to Christendom is by looking at our visit page on our website and then reviewing all of the various Visit Weekends that are scheduled, then figure out which time would fit your schedule, and the fill in the Visit Request Form. That's it.

If you cannot visit during a weekend, you may visit during the week, pretty much anytime.

Also, we have special Senior and Junior Visit Days schedule each semester. These are great for people who are only able to get away from school for a short time but want to see as much as they can about Christendom.

If you are planning on flying to our area, you fly into Dulles Airport (IAD) and we pick you up for free, and return you for free. While here, we feed you, put you up in our dorm rooms, send you to whatever events are going on, and there is no cost to you (normally). In fact, if you are flying, we even provide you with bedding, a pillow, and towels. We have inflatable mattresses that you sleep on, or sometimes your student ambassador takes the mattress and gives you his or her bed. You sit in on whatever classes you wish, although we normally suggest freshman classes, and you have a personal meeting with me, to ask me whatever questions you have about Christendom.

We believe that the students who visit Christendom truly get a feel for what life is like here at one of the most Catholic colleges in America, and they are able to see if Catholicism is truly "the air that we breathe," as we advertise. They are able to see if the students that attend Christendom are really as dedicated, knowledgeable, moral, happy, and educated as we say that they are. And most importantly, they are able to see if Christ is truly the King of our campus, as we proclaim.

And sometimes, after their visit, people find out that they want nothing to do with Christendom. They find that Christendom is not their cup of tea, or better, not the type of family that they wish to join. And that’s fine with us. We only want people coming to Christendom who fully understand what we are and why we do what we do. We only want people coming to Christendom who want to be formed by our educational experience and who want to embrace the culture of Christendom and become more in tune with our Catholic cultural heritage. And not everyone’s into this.

So, I hope this helps and I look forward to welcoming you to campus someday!Director of Admissionstmcfadden@christendom.edu800.877.5456 ext. 1290

If anyone has questions about applying, visiting, scholarships, financial aid, campus life, rules and regulations, majors, core curriculum, transfer credits, or even about the food here at Christendom, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.